[Dailydrool] Young Charlie's Summer Vacation Report

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

Young Charlie doesn't feel the need to find as much to do as our  
Elsinore. His list of what he did over the summer is much shorter:

Spent time visiting at my mother's, which includes taking long naps  
with her.
Worked on a dirt hollow to lie in under the dog ramp.
Hung out with me while I worked on editing projects.
Tore up all the toilet paper tubes that magically appear in his toy  
basket.
Played "Trading Post" with the socks and other fun things Ken keeps  
leaving beside the bed.
Chased feral cats out of the yard.
Visited his friends at Jennifer's house for a week.
Visited his friends at Kelly Jane Wilson's house for some Sunday  
morning get-togethers.
Begged to be allowed to play "Chase" with the cats at Kelly Jane's  
house and then cried when we both told him he couldn't.
Improved his dancing skills.

I'm actually quite proud of Charlie's dancing these days. Most nights  
after dinner he asks me to dance with him by throwing down his best  
dance moves, which are always done with skillful abandonment. I'll  
admit to not having taken him very seriously in the past when it  
comes to dancing. Our Elsinore's always been the family dancer, and  
Charlie's just sort of gone along for the ride with it. But over the  
summer his dancing's become smoother, and he seems slightly less  
dependent on treats for getting through a sequence.

Not only that, but he's actually recognizing some of the commands.  
This is very exciting. I realized he was getting it several weeks ago  
when I told Elsinore to do a "twist" (turn counter clockwise) and  
then a "dance" (turn clockwise). Elsinore did them perfectly, of  
course, but out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Charlie doing a  
"dance" and then looking at me for his reward. When it didn't come,  
he did the "dance" turn again. That's when it hit me that he knows  
the word AND knows what it means. Wow!

I had no idea he'd been paying such close attention to what I was  
doing with Elsinore and picking up on it so well. He's always been  
such a happy, lighthearted little fellow that I've made the mistake  
of not taking him seriously when it comes to being able to be a  
serious learner. Not that I ever thought he was stupid, I just  
thought he wasn't all that motivated or interested when it comes to  
dancing. Guess I was wrong. So now after Elsinore's gone to bed for  
the night, he and I work on some of the more advanced things she's  
already learned. Now we just need to work on finding what kind of  
music works best for Charlie and I can start thinking of choreography  
for him.....

Charlie, being a very young six-and-a-half, isn't vying with Elsinore  
for calendar pin-up girl status. But he'll happily solicit votes for  
her, which, as we know, are really votes for the Bounders. Actually,  
once Charlie's hit the requisite age to enter this contest, I'm not  
sure I'd encourage it. As long as he's running through the house with  
Ken's hat in his mouth, I think it might be considered  
misrepresentation on his part. Unless, of course, seven has become  
the new two for dogs. In which case . . .

Elizabeth

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